I imported my faithful family dog into Malta today and it was really very simple.
Microchipped, passported, vaccinated against rabies and send off for a permit to travel (which we asked for but they never sent so I had to wait 15 minutes for a vet to arrive).
We flew from Spain via Rome with Alitalia and the dog's ticket cost just 75e (for both flights). Bargain!
Couldn't have been easier